Silence, Shame Further Rape Crises

Author: Alison Hertel Associate Editor

According to statistics from an April 23, 1992 report from the National Victim Center, in the United States, 1.3 women are raped every minute. According to the same report, only 16 percent of rapes are reported to the police. This low number is partially explained by the fact that 76 percent of women who reported they had been raped and/or physically assaulted since age 18 said that a current or former husband, cohabiting partner or date committed the assault (U.S. Department of Justice, Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November 1998).

Rape and sexual assault are major problems on college campuses. According to Yonna McShane, director of Health and Wellness Education and coordinator of sexual harassment educational prevention programs, between one in four and one in six undergraduate women are victims of rape or attempted rape.

No Middlebury study has been done specifically on this topic, however McShane's alcohol survey last year reported that two percent of respondents said that they had been sexually assaulted or raped in the past year as a result of someone else's drinking. McShane said that number has been consistent over the years. McShane confirmed that rape is underreported in general and said, "There's no reason to think that our [Middlebury's] numbers [of rapes] are any different than the national numbers."

Visiting Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies Amy Elman said, "If we acknowledge that violence against women is a widespread phenomenon, why would we think it never happens on college campuses or that it somehow never happens here? That said, I also think that those of us emphasizing the pervasiveness of male violence against women and girls and that it could happen to anyone are correct, but this does not mean that it is equally widespread, happens the same way or means the same things to everyone."

Accounting for the fact that most rapes occur between people who know one another, McShane said, "It is confusing for them when someone they knew, liked and trusted violates them in this way."

Deborah Grant, director of Chellis House, said, "One obvious problem in identifying rates of acquaintance rape is that women themselves are slow to recognize it. Because the assault involves someone the woman knows, she is likely to feel some culpability for the assault. This fact is exacerbated when alcohol is involved."

As a counselor McShane heard young women say such things as: "I should have known" and "How could I have let this happen?" In many cases McShane thinks the victims are afraid they will not be believed or that they will be blamed for it. Many women put themselves in vulnerable positions (consuming alcohol, for example), but that does not mean they are the ones at fault. McShane gave a useful analogy. If you leave your door unlocked and someone comes in and steals all your stuff, the person who robbed you is still guilty of a crime.

Grant said, "Women must take themselves and their feelings seriously. So, if something about a sexual encounter is disturbing, a woman must examine those feelings and talk to someone about it."

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, or if you are not even sure that what happened was happened was an assault the College and community offer a variety of resources. Medical treatment is available through Parton Health Center or Porter Medical Center. On campus students can find people to talk to at the Center for Counseling and Human Relations, the Deans' offices, the College Chaplain or the Office of Health and Wellness Education. The Office of Health and Wellness Education lists information online at www.middlebury.e.du/~healthed/assaultrape2.html. In the community, resources are available at WomenSafe.